Chunghwa to build 3 int'l submarine cables

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Telecommunications giant Chunghwa Telecom is planning to construct three major international submarine cables by 2016, a project that will cost an estimated NT$4.2 billion.

Chunghwa is looking to boost its international market by building the submarine cables, which will elevate the network capacity to over 2TBps after the cables are finished.

Leng Tai-feng (冷台芬), president of Chunghwa Telecom's international business group, said that the company's international networking will be expanded by the joint cable construction project with telecommunication companies in different countries. The three cables are the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 5 (SMW5) and the New Cross Pacific (NCP), which are slated to be finished by April, 2015, mid-2016 and February, 2016, respectively.

The company's international network capacity has reached 1.7TBps so far, but Leng states that the amount has not quite reached the company's goal; a growth of 0.3TBps is expected within two years.

Chunghwa Telecom is constantly competing with foreign nations, which also provide business opportunities. The company is eager to expand its market via the said construction projects, said Leng.

As for the cloud storage services provided by Chunghwa Telecom, the company is planning to finish an International Data Corporation cloud control room in Banqiao District, New Taipei City before the end of 2014, Leng added.